Dear Confreres,
I was just thinking of the place socially conscious songs had in French Revolution and in any Revolution in the world.

They were simple and popular and yet powerful songs, easily singable by groups and large crowds, that contained seeds of social change - and thus got into the conscious and sub-conscious minds of people and made the gather and demand their rulers for right things.

Fr. Maria Arokiam SDB, Regional Councillor for South Asia, sent a message to the Salesian Family Delegates who are Meeting at Don Bosco Provincial House, Hyderabad, February 7-9, 2014.

Among other things he says: "The Salesian Family is no more a marginal reality in the thinking of the Salesians and of any other member of the group. It has come so much into focus, that we need to think like a family, and not only as single congregations or groups. Where we can we can work together in the same institution or project. But we can also work together on many other areas, on common projects from our own institutions. "

Project Europe, unlike other projects of the Salesian congregation, like the Project America, Project Africa, etc., had 3 major elements defined by the Rector Major.

1. The internal renewal of the Salesian Charism in Europe.

2. Restructuring our presences to make our mission more efficacious.

3. Sending missionaries to Europe.

With regard to the first aspect, efforts are still going on and as you can guess, it is not easy to judge the results. With regard to the second aspect, “restructuring”, several initiatives have taken place. The number of provinces has been reduced. Some houses or activities of houses have been closed down or handed over to lay administration. A few new activities, particularly in favour of the poor of Europe, such as the immigrants, the gypsies etc., have been initiated.
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The Postulator General of the Congregation, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, gave the General Council some update last week, regarding the latest situation of the Saints, Blesseds, Venerables and the Servants of God in our Family. Here I share some of that information with you.

We have 165 persons in the Salesian Family, recognized at various levels for their holiness.
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Living with clearly contradictory values seems to come natural for Indian society. Corruption and religion can coexist peacefully. Ritual purity and abominable physical dirt can live together. We are one nation, while every State and language group derides and often hates the other. We can claim to honour women, killing her with the very idea of honour that we impose on her! We can enslave and exploit our children and claim that they are our future! We can be utterly sexual in mind and body and claim that modesty is our national virtue!

One wonders whether being a woman is itself a matter of shame in India. If not, why then is there so much of female infanticide and female illiteracy? Dowry is a system in which a woman has to pay a man in order to serve him and to hand over to him absolute sexual rights over her! A man honours a woman by merely marrying her! A woman has no such claim. It is the husband who gives “life” to the wife, and not the other way about! When a man dies his wife has no more meaningful existence. It is a shame to be a widow! For a man to live without a wife is heroism! A woman’s economic independence is a threat to the man. So the wife is either prohibited from working, and if she works, he should have the control over her money!
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The Rector Major and the General Council Members made a half-day retreat at the beginning of the Winter Plenum of the General Council Session, December 2012-January 2013, on 3rd December, feast of St. Francis Xavier. Early morning we were received by the Salesian Community of the Vatican and taken for the Eucharistic Celebration at the tomb of St. Peter, right below the canopied Papal Altar of Confession designed by Bernini in the middle of the magnificent Basilica. After breakfast the Rector Major introduced some documents he put at our disposal for reading, reflection and prayer connected to the great events being lived at present, namely the Year of Faith, the Synod of Bishops on New Evangelization, the Advent Season and the approaching General Chapter 27.
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The occasion was the 150th birth anniversary of the famous Indian Guru and Religious Reformer, Swami Vivekananda, founder of the world-wide movement, the Ramakrishna Mission. The theme of the two day meeting, attended by a host of dignitaries, leaders and thinkers and about 2000 participants, was ?Dialogue for World Peace and Harmony?. The venue was the Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi and the dates were 11th and 12th of September!
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Sunita and Anita are two “Disciples” – secular sisters belonging to the Don Bosco Secular Institute of “The Disciples”, founded by Fr. Joe D’Souza SDB. They have been in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh for the past 15 years, in a small rented house. They take Jesus literally and seriously. Jesus sent his disciples two by two to announce the Good News – that the Kingdom of Heaven was at hand – to the villages and towns. His disciples were to stay with the people, eat what they get, own no property and not force their message on others. That is what these disciples have been doing, and with what success! The people of the area – all of whom are Hindus – love them and consider them part of their families. They are called upon to visit them, pray for them and bless them. The Salesians of the place are proud of them.
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It was good to be back in Kotadeniyawa, the Salesian Novitiate of the Vice Province of Sri Lanka, which was reopened on 8th July 2012 with 6 novices, after a break of three years. Due to lack of sufficient number of novices, it had been closed. This year there are six out of which four are form Guwahati Province! You may be intrigued as to how the Guwahati boys landed up in Sri Lanka as novices.

Two years ago, Fr. Joe Almeida, the then provincial of Guwahati, seeing that he had a substantial number in the last year of the aspirantate, offered some candidates the possibility of doing the prenovitiate and novitiate in Sri Lanka, where due to lack of numbers these phases of formation were languishing. Some 10 generous young men volunteered. Four of them have reached the novitiate. Another noteworthy fact is the return of the veteran Italian missionary, Fr. Joseph Giaime SDB, back to Sri Lanka after being away for a few years in Tanzania and Nigeria.
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